Guess this is what happens when you fire share on your forum. (Thanks R.I.A.A.) Granted, there were no actual files hosted to It's Psyche but there were plenty of links to download discs from such sites as Megaupload, ShareBee & RapidShare.

From what I saw it looked like a decent community........they were not particularly friendly........ but they were not downright mean either. They kinda just kept to themselves.............shared discs............& made the occasional comment or 2. They were not real descriptive about what was posted nor was there too much information or discussion about bands. Just discs........oodles & oodles of discs. From newer retro-psyche to the most obscure singles. Post after post after post of link after link after link. Pages & pages of links.......... Their selection of Progressive looked very cool as did whoever posted "English Psychedelia: A - Z." 26 - 1 hour discs starting w/ "A" & ending in "Z". Unfortunately no other info was given except Artist & Title. I wish I knew who posted these as I bet there would be a killer of a conversation to have about these............ I actually do not know some of the artists/groups on these! (Ego is alive & healthy obviously!)

In the long run will they be missed? Yes. Are there sites w/ the same things available? Some things..... but a lot of this was truly unique. Will they find a way to return to the land of forums? Probably............& the sooner the better.......... I need to post questions......... tons & tons of questions.............

4.12.2009

Well......it's about time" I said to myself as I opened my e-mail account this morning to find a message that read "Anonymous had left you a comment on Blogger". Feeling very smug & self-patronizing I typed Blogger into my search engine, patted myself on the back & clicked the link. "Somebody actually reads this blog?" I thought to myself as I read the message left. It was on an entry (a quick entry I will add) on The Rhino 4 CD box set "Real Life Permanent Dream". This is what was left............

Then ......... after staring at it for about 30 seconds I was able to understand what was written.itspsycheforum = It's Psyche Forum. It was a link to a psychedelic forum. & oh what a forum it is..........

.......from 60's U.K. Psyche to Home Made compilations this site really does have a lot to offer.It looks like that you can DL discs from postings there that link to such sights as Rapidshare, Megaupload, Depositfiles & Mediafire. They also link to blogs & other sources of downloadability. Or you can post questions & get intelligent & friendly responses. Thay also cover some Krautrock & Progressive music which is nice to see others such as myself who are of the opinion that Krautrock & Progressive are merely extentions of Psychedelic Music. (As the drugs change.......... the music changed.) Just browsing their site I was able to suss out what ever happened to the folks who put out the Prae-Kraut Pandemonium collections & the Kraut Demons Kraut! discs. (Which has the Inner Space tracks that a Pre-Can put out.)

Very cool stuff....... very cool site.

After going through the site & seeing just ow bloody cool a Psychedelic community could be I came to a very ugy truth. A bitter realization set over me like a velvet fogg (get it?) that made me loathe my ignorance for a breif moment. That link wasn't put there for me to find their site & to loose myself in all the fruits they offered.......that link was for me to post the box set on their site so they could selfishly DL it. As my shoulders shrugged & my heart sank at the realization that no one had actually read my blog I said to myself "Well......... screw them! Let them get their own promo connections & then they can rip & convert & post on their bloody own site or wherethefuckever they bloody want to!" "Damned be to all who don't reconize the might & glory & superior intellect that I possess when it comes to music!!!!" (Snicker.........)

4.09.2009

Although I have never met the man I do possess his signature. (Autograph.) It was given to me when I left Amoeba Music in Cali. by Eric.

If you have read my previous entries on this page then you may already understand that I am a bit of a nutter for this man's music. From The Spades to Demon Angel I try to read, hear & watch all that I can about who he is & what he does. Although I am no expert (& will never claim to be so) I do know a bit......... so imagine my surprise when I learned that back in 2005 some of his recordings were re-mastered & re-issued. I can remember scouring the bins at My Generation to find a copy of Gremlins Have Pictures.

I remember getting the Mars single at Platterpuss Records. I got my copy of Clear Night For Love on trade at Rec. Ex.

Bought Casting The Runes at Used Kids down in Columbus.....

& the Sponge single in Cali.

(prompting Eric to dig deep & give me Bermuda/The Interpreter)...

(See above.)

Terry giving me copies of The Evil One & Reverend Of Karmic Youth.

Tim giving me a copy of Love To See You Bleed......(You get the idea.)

I thought I had most of if not all that was issued. Guess not. It looks like The Evil One,

Gremlins Have Pictures

& Don't Slander Me

are out on CD w/ bonus material. (& in the case w/ Gremlins..... new cover art as well.......... a shame really...........) The Evil one has a bonus disc to boot! The Modern Humans Show graces disc 2 for the first time. An interview w/ a coherent Roky interspersed w/ live, in the studio versions of songs. The other two, Gremlins Have Pictures & Don't Slander Me have a few bonus cuts but nothing that makes or breaks the listening experience. The re-mastering on all 3 sound superb. No "Loudness Re-mastering" here as all the brights are bright & the bass is not overpowering. There's parts to songs that I have never even noticed before that are clearly evident on these new discs. It's odd that all 3 sound top notch as they appear to be issued on 2 different labels. First Gremlins use to be on Pink Dust (Restless). Now it's on Sony. The Evil One was on 415 Records (through Sony) now it's on Sympathy For The Record Industry. Finally Don't Slander me was on Pink Dust (Restless) as well..... & it's the only one that stayed put. What? Why? Did Sony sell Evil One to Sympathy & spend the cash on Gremlins? Did Restless sell Gremlins & use the cash to re-issue Don't Slander Me? & where the hell does Sympathy For The Record Industry get the cash needed for The Evil One? (Just being personal as The Evil One is in tight first as my fave solo LP by Roky & Sympathy has a nasty reputation for being cheap.)

Well........... this time around instead of posting a few tracks I have made a mix cd. There's some singles here & some LP cuts. Plus a bit of an interview which opens & closes the disc nicely. It is 60 minutes

4.08.2009

For those of you who may still be living under a rock............ The Beatles have finally crawled out from under their respective rocks (well..... the two that can STILL crawl.......) & announced that September 9th all of their UK releases are going to be re-released & remastered. Yes.......I said RE-MASTERED! Rumor has it they started this endeavor 4 years ago utilizing state of the art re-mastering techniques along with vintage studio equipment to help preserve the essence of the original analogue tapes. (Whatever that techdribble is suppose to mean......) Here's to hoping they have not caved in to the popular re-mastering belief that louder is better. I unfortunately have read one review that ended w/...... "On the bright side, Howlett remarked, "they sound louder than previous CD reissues." Well worth the wait." ........ so I am not holding my breath. It was a post on The Guardian out of the U.K. Written by Sean Michaels (No...... not The Heartbreak Kid ...... ) the article also says that there will be a box set containing all of the Stereo mixes & a completely different box set containing all of the Mono mixes. I am thinking the Mono box set is going to be cheaper as it will have less discs. Abbey Road & Let It Be were never mixed for Mono. There are Mono mixes of Abbey road that float around on bootlegs but they are fake Stereo fold downs. So it goes.

Now remember kids....... these are the original U.K. presses. The original U.S. mixes have already been issued under the guise of "The Beatles: The Capital Albums Vol. 1 & 2." Each box has 4 discs. Vol. 1 has Meet The Beatles, The Beatles Second, Something New & Beatles '65. Vol. 2 has The Early Beatles, Rubber Soul, Help & Beatles IV. All these releases also have the Mono mixes as well as the Stereo mixes. They all sound good but to my ears suffer from "being remastered too loud". Unfortunately they are the only way of getting the U.S. versions on C.D. Unless you go for one of the wide variety of "Pirates" available......

Dr. Ebbett's

Dr. Ebbett's specializes in releasing digital copies of long-deleted and hard-to-obtain vinyl records, particularly issues from the audiophile Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (MFSL) label. Although the Ebbett's catalog has many artists, it is most known for The Beatles CD's transferred from the best quality MFSL releases, US releases and mono vinyl sources. Dr. Ebbett's is regarded by many audiophiles as being of the highest quality needle drops of Beatles vinyl around. For those interested in the technical, one source close to the Dr. claims that Ebbett's says he uses no noise reduction and that there's no magic formula...just a good ear and patience."

He is an understandably shadowy figure who first surfaced in a small, shady spot of the internet, selling his own copies of the "alternate" Beatles' catalog. His attitude - If the official company won't do it - I will do it! And he does, and offers EVERYTHING you can imagine - all the USA releases in mono and stereo, all the UK releases in mono and stereo, some German, Mexican., Canadian, Italian and a smattering of famous bootleg titles (Collector's Items, Casualties) and unreleased albums (Sessions, Hollywood Bowl 1964) and the Christmas Album.

All of the CD's come with spot-on package design, beautiful artwork, and silk screened CD's - and the sound.....the BEST you have ever heard! Taken from virgin vinyl (even Vee Jay albums!) the sound crisp, sweet and better than anything you've heard. They are as close to the real thing as we're ever going to get. If you can get them, they are worth the money.

This person (or group of people) may be singularly be responsible for EMI re-mastering The Beatles Catalog as this article appeared in Rolling Stone a few months back........

"The Beatles' albums came out on CD in 1987, but fans have long complained that the early digital technology used to remaster the recordings left them sounding hollow and thin — and that the official re-masters are way overdue. That's where Purple Chick comes in — a secretive fan (or group of fans) who has been quietly re-mastering classic discs like Revolver and A Hard Day's Night, and releasing the digital files for free online. How is this possible? The Beatles' CD's sound so bad that carefully digitized tracks from pristine vinyl copies are noticeably better — with crisper highs, a fuller sound stage, and more realistic reproduction of instruments and voices. And the Purple Chick editions are superior to the originals in other ways, too: The Sgt. Pepper collection contains the original record in mono and stereo, and four discs' worth of studio outtakes; the White Album comes in a whopping twelve-disc version, including alternate takes, studio chatter, demos and fascinating jams. So how do you get this stuff? Google is your friend: Try searching "purple chick and megaupload" to get started."

As you can see there are a lot of titles available from Purple Chick. P.C. seems to be a bit of an Obsessive/Compulsive when it comes to these compilations as they contain every known version/mix available. Even going as far as taking tracks from other pirates (I.E. everything below listed DESS is Dr. Ebbett's) & giving credit where credit is due. Here is a detailed list of The Beatles. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Deluxe Edition.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band4: With A Little Help From My Friends5: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds6: Getting Better7: Fixing A Hole8: She's Leaving Home9: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!10: Within You Without You11: When I'm Sixty-Four12: Lovely Rita13: Good Morning Good Morning14: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band(Reprise)15: A Day In The Life16: inner groove

soundtrack17: Only A Northern Song

alternate stereo mixes

18: Strawberry Fields Forever (US mix)19: A Day In The Life (1982 mix)20: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band(Y.S. Songtrack)21: With A Little Help From My Friends(Y.S. Songtrack)22: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds(Y.S. Songtrack)23: When I'm Sixty-Four(Y.S. Songtrack)24: Penny Lane (2000 mix)25: A Day In The Life (1988 mix)

DISC TWO - mono

single1: Strawberry Fields Forever2: Penny Lane

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band4: With A Little Help From My Friends5: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds6: Getting Better7: Fixing A Hole8: She's Leaving Home9: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!10: Within You Without You11: When I'm Sixty-Four12: Lovely Rita13: Good Morning Good Morning14: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band(Reprise)15: A Day In The Life16: inner groovealternate mono mixes

1: A Day In The Life - take 1 composite fragments(Anthology 2 + Anthology DVD + Anthology Director's Cut + As It Happened, Baby!)2: A Day In The Life - take 2 + overdubs (from Anthology 2)3: A Day In The Life - take 4 (Anthology Director's Cut)4: A Day In The Life - take 6 (RM1) - (Anthology DC + ARVS + Acetates)5: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - take 9 (RM1) (Acetates 2002)6: A Day In The Life - orchestra overdub (Anthology DVD)7: A Day In The Life - edit piece take 11 (Anthology Director's Cut)8: Good Morning Good Morning - take 9 (RM1) (Anthology 2)9: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! - rehearsal take 7 (Anthology DVD)10: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! - dialogue fragment (Liverpool Sound Collage)11: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! - take 1 (Anthology 2)12: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! - take 2 (Anthology 2)13: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! - take 7 (+9) (Anthology 2)14: A Day In The Life - edit piece take 9 (Anthology Director's Cut)15: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - takes 6+7+8 (Anthology 2)16: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise) - take 5 (Anthology 2)17: Within You Without You - take 2 instrumental (Anthology 2)18: Only A Northern Song - takes 3+12 (Anthology 2 speed corrected)19: Intro To Sgt. Pepper (applause) RM20 (Secret Songs In Pepperland)20: Billy Shears (applause) RM 20 (Secret Songs In Pepperland)21: Good Morning, Good Morning (sound effects) RM 20 (Secret Songs In Pepperland)21a Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! - sound effects

alternate mixes

22: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! - rehearsal take 7 (Anthology Video)

1: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 1 (The Making Of Sgt. Pepper)2: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 7 (The Making Of Sgt. Pepper)3: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 26 (The Making Of Sgt. Pepper)4: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Arrive Without Aging)5: With A Little Help From My Friends (Arrive Without Aging)6: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - take 6 `(Arrive Without Aging)7: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite (Arrive Without Aging)8: Good Morning Good Morning (Arrive Without Aging)9: A Day In The Life - take 1 (Anthology DVD+Arrive Without Aging)10: A Day In The Life - take 1 (Anthology Director's Cut)11: A Day In The Life - take 6 (Anthology Director's Cut)12: A Day In The Life - orchestra overdub (Anthology Director's Cut)13: Penny Lane - RM 9 (More Masters + Turn Me On Dead Man)14: Penny Lane - RM 10 (More Masters + Turn Me On Dead Man)15: A Day In The Life - RS 1 (A Day In The Life)16: A Day In The Life - RS 2 (A Day In The Life)17: A Day In The Life - RS 3 (A Day In The Life)18: A Day In The Life - RS 4 (A Day In The Life)19: A Day In The Life - RS 5 (called as RS7) (A Day In The Life)20: A Day In The Life -RS 6 (A Day In The Life)21: A Day In The Life - RS 7 (A Day In The Life)22: A Day In The Life - RS 8 (A Day In The Life)23: A Day In The Life - RS 9 (A Day In The Life)24: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 1 (Abbey Road Video Show)25: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 7 (Abbey Road Video Show)26: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 26 (Abbey Road Video Show)27: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 1 (Anthology DVD)28: Strawberry Fields Forever - take 7 RM3 + take 25 drums (Anthology 2)29: Penny Lane - takes 6+7+9 (Anthology 2)30: A Day In The Life - takes 1+2+take 6 RM1+orchestra session (Anthology 2)30a Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! - take 731: Only A Northern Song - takes 3+12 (Anthology 2)

Mirror Spock

Like the previously mentioned Doctor & P.C. Mirror Spock performs what is known as "Needle Drops". That is, They take the best copy of an L.P. & "drop the needle" (play & record the L.P.) but unlike Doc's or P.C. their primary function is just Beatles recordings. No Who like Dr. Ebbets. No Beach Boys & The Velvet Underground like Purple Chick. Simply Beatles recordings. There tends to be a little discussion (of course) between which has the better sound. The Doctor or P.C or M.S.

Flag this review:

I was just listening to a 1987 CD rip of "It Won't Be Long" compared with the Purple Chick re-master, and if anything, it sounds like it is quieter and maybe even a bit muffled...or maybe not? Are the Purple Chicks the best re-masterings or not really?

Edit: While I'm on that, I've been trying to find out which versions of Beatles albums I should get. So far, this is what I've gathered:

Please Please Me - MonoWith The Beatles - MonoA Hard Day's Night - MonoBeatles For Sale - MonoHelp! - Not sureRubber Soul - Not sure, but leaning towards MonoRevolver - Not sureMagical Mystery Tour - Not sureSgt. Pepper - Not sure, but leaning towards MonoThe White Album - no idea. there are tracks like revolution 9 that are specifically for stereo, i'd imagine. but i'm just not sure.Abbey Road - I'm assuming stereo, but again not sure.Let It Be - Assuming stereo, again not sure

I downloaded the Purple Chick re-masters hoping for some amazing improvement but ... I can't really hear it. Maybe my ears aren't what they used to be?

Regarding the 2nd half of your post --- the only recommendation I'd make is getting the mono version of Sgt. Pepper. It's a lot different from the stereo mix. Both are good but the differences are worth hearing.

The Beatles were present during the mixing of the album in mono and the LP was originally released as such alongside a stereo mix prepared by Abbey Road engineers led by Geoff Emerick; the Beatles themselves did not attend the mixing of the stereo version. (The mono version is now out of print on vinyl and was not officially released on CD.) The two mixes are fundamentally different. For example, the stereo mix of "She's Leaving Home" was mixed at a slower speed than the original recording and therefore plays at a slower tempo and at a lower pitch than the original recording. Conversely, the mono version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is considerably slower than the stereo version and features much heavier gating and reverb effects. McCartney's yelling voice in the coda section of "Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)" (just before the segue into "A Day in the Life") can plainly be heard in the mono version, but is nearly inaudible in the stereo version. The mono version of the song also features drums that open with much more presence and force, as they are turned well up in the mix. Also in the stereo mix, the famous segue at the end of "Good Morning Good Morning" (the chicken-clucking sound which becomes a guitar noise) is timed differently and a crowd noise tape comes in later during the intro to "Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)".Other variations between the two mixes include louder laughter at the end of the mono mix of "Within You Without You", as well as a gush of laughter between the coda of the title track and the beginning of "With a Little Help From My Friends", and a colder, echoless ending on the mono version of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!".

I haven't heard the Purple Chick remasters. I've got the Dr. Ebbett needledrops of the MFSL Stereo LPs instead. They're all an absolute improvement and unlike the official CDs Help! and Rubber soul have the original stereo mixes, not the remixed 1987 versions.

Stick with the Dr.Ebbetts releases re: The Beatles. Purple Chick put out a pretty good version of 'Smile' by The Beach Boys, which I would recommend, but regarding the best sounding Beatles albums, I would stick with the good Doctor. I grabbed FLAC copies of all of his releases and for the albums that were released in Mono/Stereo you can fit both versions on one disc, pretty much like the officially released remaster of Pet Sounds, so you have the best of both worlds.

The Black Triangle 'Abbey Road' is THE very best 'official' Beatles release. It was a flat transfer released in Japan and sounds amazing. I also like the Mirror Spock 'White Album' release, although it's unofficial. Either way they all sound leaps and bounds better than the rubbish official releases.

I just hope that when the catalog receives the eventual remaster, they don't go the route of David Bowie's 1999 Virgin remasters and boost up the volume and present rubbish sounding albums. For Bowie stick with the Ryko releases if you are not an audio nut, as they do the job and have interesting (for the most part) bonus tracks. If you are an audio nut you might want to look into grabbing the original RCA cds that were released, but that's another animal that I won't tackle in this thread (PM me for details on which ones to look for if interested).

How is it that no one has been C&D'd and sued over these types of releases? I can't imagine actually paying for them with cash. Downloading them seems reasonable, but I didn't notice a great improvement when I've tried a PC version. I am content to leave it in the hands of the people who legally have a right to remaster the music.

Every album except The White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be is better in mono. The White Album is actually probably better in mono too, except Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da doesn't have the handclaps at the beginning, and Helter Skelter doesn't have "I've got blistas on my fingers!"

As for these bootleggers not being sued, I've never really understood it myself. A part of me wants to think that the artist respects the care put into these remasters, but c'mon, let's get serious, a bootleg is a bootleg.

I personally do not own any of the Beatles bootlegs. In fact, the only ones I actually own are Bowie and Prince bootlegs (I have several hundred of each) and I've bought most on Ebay and a few have been located in used bins at my local record store. I've downloaded the Beatles Ebbetts cds mostly from membership sites, but your average public torrent site usually has them in packs to be downloaded all at once.

Anyways, trust me with the Ebbetts cds. Just about any torrent site has perfectly ripped FLAC rips that will have you putting away the rubbish sounding official copies in place of these fine sounding master works. If you want to stay official and have some cash to spend, look for the Black Triangle Abbey Road, which is a legit release that was pulled from the market shortly after it came out. That is by far the best sounding Abbey Road and you won't feel bad about spending the money on a legit product.

But c'mon, it's the Beatles. You can't stop at Abbey Road, give the good doctor a download, it won't hurt, I promise...

I have both and they are probably the same in terms of sound quality, in my opinion. I don't really give the Ebbetts 'Abbey' much of a spin, partly due to the fact that the Black Triangle is an official (albeit very rare) release, and the album itself was only recorded in stereo. The same goes for 'Let It Be'.

As a side note, stay far away from the bootleg label, Quarter Apple. At one time they were touting a mono 'Abbey Road', which was really a fold down of the stereo mix. I don't know if they are around anymore, but their sources were pathetic (scratched / dirty vinyl, fake boots like the mono Abbey, etc). I only use Ebbetts and Mirror Spock, and I only use Spock for The White Album, which I think is superior to Ebbetts.

Either way you slice it, you owe it to yourself as a Beatles fans to listen to these recordings. They really make a difference in regards to their sound, plus you can listen to both the mono and stereo mixes (which can be quite different).

Abbey Road: The Black Triangle is perfect as it is, being the only non-bootleg (although long out of print) edition of the Beatles albums that is currently worth seeking out on the marketplace.

Let It Be: I used Ebbett's UK Blue Box Stereo Remaster and I had enough room on the disc to include 'Get Back'. For 'Get Back', which was the working title to 'Let It Be' and included a slightly different mix and tracklisting, as well as different artwork (referencing the band's first album), I used the Dr Ebbetts Glyn Johns 2nd Mix.

Past Masters Vol. 1 and Vol. 2: I used Ebbett's Past Masters - Volume One (US Mono/Stereo LP - Capitol) and Past Masters - Volume Two (US Mono/Stereo LP - Capitol). Since both albums are a compilation, some tracks are in mono while others are in stereo.

All of the other albums (including 'Yellow Submarine') I made for myself included Stereo/Mono versions, similar to that of 'Pet Sounds' released by The Beach Boys, so that I could have the best of both worlds available on one disc. Here is the simplified breakdown:

For the following albums I used the Ebbett's (UK Stereo) Blue Box Remaster and (Japanese Mono LP) Red Wax versions so that I could have stereo on the first half of the disc, and mono on the second half. The albums that were sourced from the Blue Box and Red Wax:

All of these fine albums are available on the usual torrent sites, both public and private (what), and all of them are well worth downloading to enhance your Beatles experience.

Here is a tool that helped me out in the past when I was searching for the definite Beatles albums. This site is an archive for various bootlegs and specializes in Beatles. You can view all of the Ebbetts versions available, although you'll find that I used the latest and greatest (Blue Box for stereo and Red Wax for mono) when it came time to make my, um, backups.

& yet still another purveyor of the infamous needle drop technique. This time, not only are they needle drops like the others but they claim to be re-mastered as well. Well...... as well as you can re-master an L.P. w/out being in possesion of the master tape reels that is.

They look like the latest up & commers on the Needle Drop scene as their catalog is much leaner then all the others. My guess is that the sound quality is at least up to par or they would not have gotten past 1 release.

I have never done a side by side comparison of any of these releases so I can not tell you from experience what any of these sound like. It would be unfair at this point in the game anyway as the piraters are using L.P.'s as sources for their needle drops/re-masterings & EMI/Parlaphone/Apple owns the master reel-to-reel tapes. I guess you could A/B the tracks but which do you think will sound better? Now, if the major label's did a needle drop then re-mastered it would be a fair comparison. I am thinking that w/ the imminent release of the re-masters that the above labels will soon be out of business or move on to either groups that have no re-mastered releases or other areas of the market like live recordings. Here is Tomorrow Never Knows from all of the above pirated selections though so you can do one yourselves & choose which sounds best until the officially licensed discs are issued.............. (if your prone to do such compulsive activities that is..........)